


Coming to a stop

by Jadesfire



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-29
Updated: 2010-03-29
Packaged: 2017-10-08 10:07:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/75569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jadesfire/pseuds/Jadesfire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to "The Master of his Fate."  In the wake of <i>Greeks Bearing Gifts</i>, Ianto has some follow-up questions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coming to a stop

  
"It never stops, does it?" Ianto stood in the doorway, coffee in one hand, book in the other. Glancing up from his desk, Jack gave him a puzzled look.

"What doesn't?"

"All this." A sweep of the hand holding the book took in Jack, his desk the office, the Hub, Cardiff and, quite possibly, the world in general. "It never stops."

"I guess not."

Ianto took a step forwards, half-cautious, half-curious. "Do you ever stop, Jack?"

"Is that my book you're spilling coffee on?" It was a feeble attempt to change the subject but Jack had had enough of fielding difficult questions for one day.

"I'm not spilling anything on it," Ianto huffed, coming over and laying it down carefully on the desk. "Thanks for the loan."

"You're welcome. Did you enjoy them?"

Shrugging a little, Ianto frowned, "Some. So many of them seem to be about death. It gets a bit depressing after a while."

"That's Victorian poetry for you." The battered cover felt comfortable and familiar under Jack's hand, and he ran his fingers over it for a moment before returning it to the bookshelf. When he turned back, Ianto was watching him with that calculating look that always made the hairs on the back of Jack's neck stand on end. "What?"

"I was just wondering." Ianto stopped, looking down for a moment, almost visibly gathering his courage before looking up again. "I was just wondering why Tosh couldn't read your mind."

Ah. He should have known that Ianto would have talked to Tosh. "She told you that?"

"She said it was blank. Empty." There was a long pause as Jack waited for Ianto to find the rest of the words. "It doesn't sound like you, that's all."

Suppressing a smile, Jack gestured for Ianto to take the seat opposite. "Tell me," he said, "how many nights this week have you cried yourself to sleep?"

"What?" It was a good job he was sitting down because Ianto looked as though he was about to fall over.

"How many nights this week, and last week and the week before, come to think of it, have you cried yourself to sleep?"

"I don't-"

Attack was still the best form of defence and Jack didn't believe in taking prisoners. "You come in here every morning, cool, calm, collected and other words beginning with 'c' – cute being one of them, by the way – wearing that professional mask, as though nothing's wrong. I'm betting that Tosh got a glimpse of what's really going on, everything that's under the surface that the rest of us never see."

"I still don't-"

"Not all of us wear our masks on the outside."

Ianto blinked. He was silent for a long moment, eyes fixed on a point just above Jack's right shoulder. Eventually, very slowly, he said, "That's the only answer I'm going to get, isn't it?"

"It's the only one I can give you." That, at least, was true.

Nodding to himself, Ianto asked, "What about the other? Do you ever stop, Jack? You're here every hour of the day and night. It's like you sleep here."

"I don't." Literal truth was easier than lying. "Although there's a bed down there." He gestured vaguely in the direction of the ladder down to his quarters.

"Good."

The single, confident word caught Jack's attention and he looked sharply. All this time and the man could still take him by surprise. He'd assumed the gathering of courage had been for another difficult question and answer session, but for once, it seemed he'd underestimated himself. Interesting. Meeting Ianto's steady gaze, he raised an eyebrow.

"Sure of yourself, aren't you?"

"Yes."

Jack laughed. He had no objection to doing the chasing, it was just somehow so much more satisfying to make the other person do it, not to mention one hell of a turn on. It wasn't the most romantic of propositions, but then romance wasn't going to come into it, was it? That wasn't going to be the arrangement. Getting to his feet, Jack came round the desk as Ianto also stood, smoothing down his tie a little. Instead of going to the other man, Jack headed over to the hatch, pulling it open and looking back expectantly.

"Well," he said, holding out a hand. "Are you coming?"


End file.
